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16 GB in a Dell Latitude E6420

Dave Farquhar Hardware February 15, 2023February 11, 2023

Officially, the maximum memory in the Dell Latitude E6420 laptop is 8 GB. That is the maximum stated Dell’s website, and the large memory vendors state the same thing. It’s hard for them to guarantee compatibility when the OEM states the maximum is 8 GB. Unofficially, numerous people, including yours truly, have upgraded them to 16 GB. Here’s how to install 16 GB in a Dell Latitude E6420 successfully.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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What dot pitch is on a monitor or graphics

Dave Farquhar Hardware January 24, 2023September 15, 2023

For a few years in the ’90s, dot pitch was a really big deal. It was one of the standard ways people compared computer monitors. Lower dot pitch was better, and worth paying a premium to get. But what is dot pitch in computer graphics? What is dot pitch in a computer monitor? Let’s dig in and find out.

Dave Farquhar

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Writeback vs writethrough cache

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing January 10, 2023January 8, 2023

I was fixing a PC with a fairly late 486DX2-66 motherboard in it. In checking it out, I found an interesting setting in its BIOS: I can use its L2 cache as either writeback or writethrough. But what’s the difference? What are the pros and cons of writeback vs writethrough cache?

Writeback is faster but was harder to implement than writethrough, so not all systems support it. If it’s available and your software doesn’t malfunction, use write-back.

Dave Farquhar

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Remembering Computer Shopper

Dave Farquhar Hardware January 9, 2023January 8, 2023

Computer Shopper was a monthly computer magazine, but it was more than that in some regards. Like the name suggests, it changed the way a certain demographic but computer. As hard as may seem to believe today, the main reason people bought it was for the advertising. The articles were good, but nobody bought it for the articles.

Dave Farquhar

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Identify a cable with a multimeter

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Retro Computing January 3, 2023December 17, 2022

I spotted a useful cable at a used computer store recently. I wasn’t 100% certain what it was, but I had the ability to rewire it into what I needed if it turned out I was wrong. Here’s how I went about identifying the cable with my multimeter.

Dave Farquhar

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What size screws to use for a GPU fan

Dave Farquhar Hardware December 27, 2022December 10, 2022

Sometimes GPU fan screws go missing, and sometimes the only way to get a bargain on a used GPU is to buy one with a missing fan. There is a pretty good chance that you won’t have any suitable GPU fan screws in your parts stash. In my case, the smallest screws I had in my parts stash were M2 screws, commonly used on laptop hard drives and SSDs. But they were too big for the shroud on a GTX 1050 TI that needed a replacement fan.

Dave Farquhar

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Add serial and PS/2 ports to a Dell Optiplex computer

Dave Farquhar Hardware December 7, 2022February 23, 2024

A lot of modern computers don’t come with PS/2 ports anymore, the reason being that USB replaced most of the ways we used to connect external peripherals to computers. But sometimes you need those ports on a modern or modern-ish computer. Here’s how to add PS/2 ports to a Dell Optiplex computer.

Dave Farquhar

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Types of keyboard connections, illustrated

Dave Farquhar Hardware October 11, 2022March 19, 2024

Someone asked me recently to help them identify the type of keyboard they needed. And I realized that some of the keyboard connector types that used to be easy to find, common, and common knowledge are no longer any of those things. And then I realized that this is an area that is still changing. So let’s go over the common keyboard connector types or types of keyboard connections.

Dave Farquhar

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Who makes Insignia TVs for Best Buy

Dave Farquhar Hardware October 5, 2022September 9, 2023

Insignia is one of Best Buy’s house brands. Best Buy doesn’t manufacture any products, but they contract manufacturing out to other companies. So who makes Insignia TVs for Best Buy? And how long do they last? Should you buy one?

Insignia is Best Buy’s house brand for various consumer products. Insignia TVs are currently made for Best Buy by Hisense.

Dave Farquhar

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What the purpose is of RAID adapters

Dave Farquhar Hardware June 28, 2022June 11, 2022

RAID, in case you are not aware, is an acronym for redundant array of inexpensive disks. It serves two purposes in computing, using multiple disk drives as a single logical drive for the purpose of improving performance, improving reliability, or both. There are different flavors of RAID, depending on the capability. Frequently, the most common types of RAID are RAID 0, 1, or 5. You can also combine them for extremely high performance applications, which usually are called RAID 5 + 1. Anymore, this is frequently handled and software. So what is the purpose of RAID adapters?

Dave Farquhar

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